


A Hero's Welcome

by Lavender_Latte



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Everyone Thinks They're Together, F/M, Just Trauma Things, Love Confessions, PTSD Pals, cuddle contract, reader is an avenger
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-15
Updated: 2020-03-15
Packaged: 2021-02-28 18:07:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,370
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23161453
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lavender_Latte/pseuds/Lavender_Latte
Summary: Reader (Third person narrative) and Bucky are friends with cuddle benefits to keep the nightmares away. Bucky comes home after a long mission, and they confess their feelings.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes & Steve Rogers, James "Bucky" Barnes/Original Character(s), James "Bucky" Barnes/Reader
Kudos: 50





	A Hero's Welcome

She was shaking. Her ears rang and her throat closed up. Something wet was on her hands. Blood. She must have dug her nails into her palms. Something else was dripping onto her neck. Sweat? Tears?

_Wake up. Wake up. Wake up._

She couldn’t. She only saw the same thing again and again. She felt the metal on her skin, the smell of gunpowder permeating her nostrils, the screams and pleads of the people in front of her.

_Please. Stop. Stop. I’m sorry, I’m so sorry._

The jolt that surged through her body as she felt her body controlled, felt herself shoved out of her own mind. Let me out. Let me out, let me go, don’t hurt them. Please. But somewhere in the distance she could feel the click of the trigger. The hollow sound ricocheting through her ears. The screams stopped. Everything was quiet except for herself, trapped in the room they’d locked her in. A prisoner of own mind.

And then she was back. She surged upwards and her eyes opened and her throat was raw. Her breaths came in spurts and sobs wracked her body. Sweat dripped from strands of her hair. She’d cropped it short a week ago, wanting a change from the tight braids and ponytails. Short hair was tactical— less for the enemy to grab onto. She heard her name being called softly. She looked around, saw nobody. Her mind was soothed momentarily and she felt relaxed. Wanda.

_Are you okay?_

_Yeah. I’m sorry for waking you up._

A pause. _He’s back. And he’s waiting for you._

Wanda knew about her little arrangement with the newest recruit to the team. And though it was strange that they ignored each other in public but clung to each other in private, she held no judgement towards either of them. They needed each other to survive — she knew what that felt like. Thank you. Her mind felt soft and warm, then it was gone and she felt empty. She mechanically got out of bed, walked to her bathroom, washed her face, took a good look at herself. The last few weeks had been hectic for the team, and back to back missions separated her from him. Consequently, she hadn’t slept at all. Wanda helped when she could, but even she could only do so much against the empty and aching. It probably wasn’t healthy to alter her emotional chemistry for combat, but then again was anything she did ever considered healthy?

She debated changing out of the shirt she stole from the room across the hall before missions to sleep in, but decided she was too tired to do so. Her legs were bare but she wasn’t ashamed, he had seen worse. He’d seen her near dead, and he hadn’t batted an eye. She walked out of her room and across the hall, and knocked on his door. Maybe he was already asleep. Maybe he gave up waiting for her. But the door opened and there he was. _Control_.

“You cut your hair.” His voice was soft, gentle, the way it always was with her.

She ducked her head, shrugged. “I needed something to- control.”

He nodded. “It suits you, looks really good.”

She smiled. “You cut yours too.” Not too much, just an inch or two, but he looked surprised she noticed. His mouth twitched and she didn’t know if she could control the wave of emotion that surged through her at the sight.

“Yeah, I did. It was getting irritable.”

Something inside her ached when she saw the haunted, steel blue eyes gleaming at her. Her body craved to hold him, smell him, feel him. She shut her eyes and breathed in. Opened them again. He let her in and she could see the tenseness in his shoulders, the pent up, trained emotion he was reeling in. Well at least she wasn’t the only one. They were standing too far away, too much space in between them. She decided to change that, and it seemed he had the same idea in mind. It took two long strides towards each other and one leap into his arms, her legs wrapping around his hips, face buried in his neck, breathing him in. She was sure she was shaking with the relief of finally seeing him, but he was too.

The coolness of his left arm sent calm through her body. He was here. He was here, and he was alright, and she could hold him and breathe him in.

“I missed you so much.” It slipped out of her mouth, against his neck, and she felt him stiffen a little before pressing a featherlight kiss against her shoulder.

“Me too.” He moved, still holding her in his arms, towards the bed and sat.

They’d never been apart for more than a few days in the few months they’d had this arrangement. But a month- it was a lot on both of them. She grudgingly unfurled herself from him and got under the covers. He joined her shortly afterwards and she curled up next to him.

“How was the mission?” Her hands stroked his hair out of habit, and he melted into her.

“Good,” It was almost a purr and she didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. One month. “I missed this though. Did you- were they worse than usual?”

She sucked in a breath. “I’ve had worse, but not in a long time. Not since we started this...” her voice trailed off. “How about you?”

“It was you. Behind the gun. And I couldn’t stop it.”

She made a noise in the back of her throat and pulled him closer. “You wouldn’t ever hurt me.”

He exhaled. “I know.”

“Stark told me earlier that we have at least two months. SHIELD is taking most of the missions for the next few weeks.”

He hummed. She always wanted to go somewhere with him. Wanted to have moments like these in a nice secluded place just for them. They hadn’t done anything past sleep, but they both knew there was something there.

“We can ask Tony if he can set something up, if you want.”

He blinked up at her in surprise, “You’d want to spend time with me? The team would know.”

She snorted. “They’re not stupid, James, they know.”

“And you’re okay with that?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

“I just- the whole reason I asked to keep it quiet was because I thought you would be ashamed.”

She inhaled sharply, fierceness in her eyes and anger in her heart at those twisted things that hurt him. “I love you.”

He stilled, but she noticed his hand never left hers and she stopped her movements in his hair. She didn’t wish she hadn’t said it. She had been wanting to say it for months now, always holding back in quiet moments and stifling her cries in desperate moments. She didn’t know if she could handle not being reciprocated, but she would if she had to. He squeezed her hand. She smiled in the dark.

“I love you too.” His voice was soft, thoughtful, vulnerable but assertive and sure. He was admitting it to himself too, she realized.

There was silence except for his and her steady breathing in the dark room. She turned over to face him and found his eyes already open and searching.

“You gonna kiss me, Barnes, or what?”

He snorted and leaned in, meeting her lips with his. He tasted like home and smelled like pine. She moved so she was straddling him and he moved so he was sat upwards, one hand in her short hair and the other on her waist.

She pulled away first, resting her forehead against his, “You’ve still got it, old man.”

He pressed a soft kiss to her mouth again, smiling through it. “I never lost it, punk.”

She rolled her eyes but complied, rolling off him and curling up with her back faced to him. He slung his right arm around her waist and kissed the side of her neck.

“Good night.”

“Good night.”

And it was a really, really good one. One of the best ones she’d ever had in her entire life.


End file.
